Right Time to say Goodbye
by sugarspiice
Summary: She hardly seemed to notice the dark clouds, or the heavy rain wetting both their bodies. Her mind only concentrated on the inevitable: He was leaving.


Title: Right time to say goodbye

Summary: She hardly seemed to notice the dark clouds, or the heavy rain wetting both their bodies. Her mind only concentrate on the inevitable: He was leaving.

_ I don't own Naruto, period. _

----------

"How about this one?"

"…. Geez, this is so troublesome."

Ino twirled around, holding a violet v-neck top to her body. She then glanced at her reflection in the mirror, semi-pleased with the way she looked.

Her friend, Shikamaru lay sprawled on top of her bed, facing up. His eyes were closed, obviously exhausted and his chest moved up and down in a steady motion.

"I've already told you, Shikamaru, that I need to find the perfect outfit for tonight. You should've thought about that before you volunteered to help me." She threw the shirt to one of the piles on her bed before grabbing another attire from her wardrobe.

The genius lazily opened one eye to see her modeling in front of her mirror. "Actually, I didn't volunteer. You're the one that dragged me from my cloud-watching time, up to your house, and insisting that I help you."

Ino quickly threw the blouse on the bed; disgusted with the way she looked. "Okay, you're right. But look at you." Suddenly, her hands were on her hips in a confident and commanding stance.

"You haven't said one comment on any of my clothes." She glared at him straight in the eye. Eventually, they were both in a staring contest, concentrating on only each other's pupils. The only difference was, hers were annoyed while his were bored and indifferent.

After an intense moment, she finally looked away and toward her reflection. She could feel her face flushing and heart beating faster than before. What was wrong with her? This was only Shikamaru…after all. But whenever she stared into his endless depths of onyx, she could feel something. Something that she definitely didn't feel around others. Not around Sakura, not around Naruto. Not even around Chouji. It was an odd feeling, both uneasy and pleasant at the same time. She shuddered at the thought.

"How about these shoes??" Laying four six pairs out in front of Shikamaru, she gave him a questioning look. "Should I go for pumps or flats?"

He studied the six different pairs with a bored expression. Was this what women went through everyday? How troublesome…

"I don't see why it matters."

She paused. "You're right. I'd better go with dress sandals instead."

Then, she was off. Throwing and flinging random shoes out of her closet, occasionally studying one for a while before continuing.

"God, I can't wait to see Sakura's face when she sees what I've put together. I bet it's ten times- no a hundred times better than her outfit." She smiled, imagining her friend's shocked face.

"Oh, and Sasuke too. He'll be _throwing_ himself at my feet once I arrive."

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes. It confused him the way girls act towards the Uchiha. The way they fought over seats just to sit in close proximity to him. Or how many times they asked him out even though the answer was always a flat out "No". And Ino, he couldn't even count how many times she's announced to everyone that she was someday going to become Mrs. Uchiha.

"So Shikamaru, what are you going to wear for the dance tonight?" Her back was still turned to him as she inspected an odd pair of heels. The color was dull and boring and it was many sizes too small. Shrugging, she threw them back inside her wardrobe, wondering how she got it in the first place.

He sat up at the sound of her voice before stopping to think. "I'm not wearing anything."

There was an odd silence, only the sounds of shoes clacking as the result of being thrown. Ino didn't turn around, only raising an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that's okay. It's not like it's formal or anything."

He winced uncomfortably at her words before sitting straight up and leaning his head on the purple headboard. Looking at the back of her blonde hair, he wondered how he was going to tell her the news. "No. I'm not going to wear anything because…"

She finally turned to look at him.

"I'm not going."

Suddenly, she was at his side, only inches away from his face. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung wide open.

"You're _not _going?!" Her voice was loud and demanding that he almost wanted to cover his ears. "_Not going _to one of the most important events in your life?! Besides the winter formal that is…"

She trailed off before finally settling down on the bed beside him. Shikamaru watched as a flood of disappointment flowed through her eyes. After a few moments, she straightened up.

"Well, you'd better have a good explanation as to why. I mean this is the first dance of the school year, the one where everyone meets each other. If you don't go, students will ignore you for the whole year! They won't talk to you, or look at you. You'll be lonely your entire life!"

He rolled his eyes at her sarcastic remark before sighing.

"Ino, the reason why I'm not going is because…" Looking straight in her eyes, he could see she wanted him to continue explaining.

"Because I'm going to Suna for a few months."

The world seemed to stop turning when he said that. She could feel her stomach do a flop, and her heartbeat seemed to die out. Had he just said…Suna? Suna? The place where _she _came from? That blonde-haired big egoistic girl from Suna? She swallowed, hoping that what he said wasn't true.

"I'm going to visit a few friends there." He explained and closed his eyes, waiting for the trashing and beatings from Ino for missing out on the dance.

But it didn't come. Instead, it was quiet. So quiet that it was somehow not normal. So quiet that Shikamaru immediately regretted whatever he just said. Sometimes with Ino, it was better sign when she was loud than when she was silent.

"And when you mean friends…. do you mean…." She paused before mustering all her courage to roll the name off her tongue. "Temari?"

He winced at the sound of her venomous voice. It was too troublesome to lie so he just told her the truth. "Yeah, I mean Temari. She…called me a few weeks ago, and thought we'd catch up, you know?"

She nodded slowly. "Oh."

Then, another silence filled the bedroom. "Well," She took a deep breath. "Don't blame me if you suddenly regret spending time in that desert."

He knew she was only joking and chuckled halfheartedly. Then, patting her slightly on the back, he stood up from the bed.

"I'm leaving tonight on the train so I'd better go pack, okay?" He was about to open the door before stopping to turn around. "See you in a few months?"

She didn't respond, just gave a weak smile and watched him disappear behind the door.

------------------

Heavy rain fell down and splashed on a lone umbrella. Shikamaru held it steady and watched as more drips of water wet the ground. There was a slight breeze in the air and gave a comforting feeling to this gloomy atmosphere.

The lazy genius looked at his watch which read 8:30 in bright numbers. It was almost time…only twenty more minutes until the train came. However, there was no one here. No one besides him in the dark, stormy night.

More droplets of water sunk, and he shivered in the cool air. Damn it, why hadn't he brought a jacket? Oh right, because it was too troublesome especially if he were to leave it on the train so instead, he packed everything in a large suitcase. Regretting his decision, he put the luggage down on the ground and put his hand in his jeans pocket.

Sighing, he thought back to this afternoon. Ino had definitely been mad at him for leaving. Shikamaru didn't know why; maybe it was just one of those odd female traits. Shrugging, he put his thoughts aside for now.

Suddenly, there were footsteps. Very light, and agile footsteps that you almost couldn't hear them over the pouring rain. He listened more carefully, but now they were gone. Disappointed, he took his hands from his pockets and picked up the luggage again.

Then it happened again. This time, it was a bit louder. He couldn't pick up which direction it was coming from, however, and was suddenly a little frightened. What if it wasn't someone he knew? What if the person was a dangerous criminal or leader in a gang? His fists tightened instantly.

"Shikamaru…" The soft voice broke through all his uneasiness. It was a voice he'd come to know over the years and immediately knew who it was.

Turning around, he was shocked at the person in front of him. She was blonde, medium height and with soft features. Her hair, which had been put up in a bun, was messy and uneven with the rain pouring down. Her clothes, a red tank top with a skirt, was wet and glued tight on her body. And finally, her eyes were bright and wide with a mix of fear and regret.

"Ino…what…what are you doing here?"

There was a silence in the atmosphere and Shikamaru hardly had time to react before she launched herself at him. Her thin, delicate arms wrapped around his neck, and pushed their bodies together. She shivered against him and layed her head on top of his shoulder.

He didn't try to pull away, instead, used one hand to put on her cold back. The feeling of her body close to his wasn't discomforting like he'd thought. Even though they were standing in the middle of a rainstorm, her wet body somehow comforted his.

However, he stiffened when he felt warm liquid gliding down his chest. And in the first time he'd seen in years, Ino was crying…

After a few moments, she pulled back, obviously embarrassed at the scene she'd done. She chuckled. "Look at me, I'm all wet."

Then, she fully pulled away from his body and moved back. "Look, I'm sorry."

She continued to explain as he listened patiently. "I guess I overreacted. I mean…I'm just not…I'm just sorry, okay?"

He nodded before looking down at the ground. It must've been his imagination, but the rain almost seemed to stop.

"What about the dance?"

Ino paused. "I decided not to go."

She used her wrist as a tool to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I heard it wasn't that good anyway." She said smiling. He quirked a smile back.

"And besides," She took his free hand in her own. "My best friend's going to leave. So, I need to say a proper goodbye, right?"

Shikamaru chuckled and stepped closer to his companion. "Ino, it's only for two months or so."

"True…" She squeezed his hand and sighed. "But promise me that you'll come back, okay? Promise me that after two months, you'll be here."

He seemed to ponder at it for a second or so before nodding softly. "I promise."

She squealed then wrapped her arms around him once more. Her head was nudged beside his neck and her weight almost stumbled him.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled before dropping the umbrella on the ground and using both of his hands to support her back. He deepened their embrace as her cheek moved against his, her skin soft and wet. The raven-haired boy closed his eyes when the sound of the train was coming by, but he didn't pull away.

Ino pressed her body to his even more and inhaled his scent. The rain was coming down even harder now; wetting both their bodies almost instantly as the wind blew against her skin. But she hardly seemed to notice that. Or the fact that the train was already here, or that they were standing in the middle of the road in a warm embrace that could certainly cause a lot of unwanted attention.

All it mattered at that moment was themselves. Him, her, and their embrace in the rain.

-----------

_Well, this was originally intended to be a one-shot but I think it'd be a great story to write about how he comes back and stuff. Give me your opinions & suggestions. Thanks for reading! _


End file.
